Strand handling apparatus



April 13, 1943. AJC. NYSTROM ErAL' STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 15, 1942 2 Sheets-She s; 1

IN VEN TOPS 14.6; lvrsmou 1.. a, was

ATTORNEY April 13, 1943.

c. NYSTROM ETAL STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 13. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG- 2 FIG. 5

FIG. 4

l/vvs/vroks AC; lvrs TROM LG. WA DE I Br A 7'7'ORNE) Patented Apr. 13, 1943 Axel Nystroni, Rutherford, and Lorentz G. Wade, Westfield, N. J., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 13, 1942, "-Serial No. 426,545

10 Claims.

This invention relates to strand handling apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for.

winding or serving one or more tape-like or ribbon-like, binding or covering strands about a core strand.

In the manufacture of cable and particularly of multi-conductor electrical cables for telephony, telegraphy, power transmission or the like uses, it is often necessary or desirable to wind a strand of relatively thin and broad 'crosssection, a tape or ribbon in form, helically about a core strand, to serve as a binding or a covering for the core for some mechanical or electrical reason. core strand longitudinally while revolving a supply of the cover strand around'the core in an orbit whose plane is at right angles to the core. The pitch of the helix in which the cover strand is thus served, laid or wound on the core strand will then depend upon the ratio of the longitudinal speed of advance of the coreto the angular speed of the cover strand supply in its orbit, while the uniformity of pitch willdepend chiefly upon the constancy of this speed ratio regardless of the absolute values of the speeds. In order that a broad, flat cover strand, a'tape or ribbon, shall be thus laid on the core smoothly and evenly and without wrinkling, the direction of approach of the tape to the winding point on the core must be kept accurately in the tangent to the helix of the Winding at that point. Where it is desired to completely enwrap or enclose a core with a covering tape, the helixof the tape must evidently have such a pitch that each turn of the wound tape will overlap the preceding turn by the amount necessary to ensure complete coverage in whatever handling the wrapped or wound core may subsequently be subjected to.

Thus, in such instances the pitch of the winding desired will depend upon the diameter of the core, the width of the tape and the amount of overlap. Generally speaking, the narrower the tape, for a given size ofcore, the steeper will be the pitch. Hence also, the narrower the tape, the greater must be its angle of approach inthe winding operation. I

An object of the present invention is to provide simple, reliable and effective apparatus for serving one or more strands in tape for-mon a core strand with accurate control of the angle of approach of the served strands to the core strand.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention may be embodied in an apparatus for serving paper tape on a cablecore which is being advanced longitudinally, wherein one or more tape supply pads are carried in a frame rotating about theadvancing core and a set of guide rollers for each tape is mounted on a'core guide tube surrounding the advancing core, the guide rollers serving t-o guide and control the tape passing '-to This may be done by advancing thethe winding point on the core and the guide rollers being interchangeable in sets and also in pairs't-o alter the path of the tape to conform the angle of approach of the tape to the Width of the tape and the desired pitch of the serving.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof taken in connectioh with the accompanying drawings in which the same reference numerals are applied to identical parts in the several figures, and in which- Fig. 1' 'is a view in side elevation and partly in section of an apparatus constructed in accordl5 ance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detached perspective view of the tape guiding and controlling means;

Fig. 3 is a detached view in end elevation and somewhat enlarged'of the guide roll assembly; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detached view of one in terchangeable'pair of rollers;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of another pair; and

Fig. 6 is a similar View of a third pair. As herein disclosed the invention is illustrated 5' as embodied in an apparatus for serving two paper tapes on a longitudinally advancing cable core. The tape is coiled densely on itself to form flat pads l5 and I6 fromwhich the tapes I! and [8 are drawn by their connection with the advancing core lS-at the winding point'W. To effect the-helical serving of thetapes the pads must be revolvedabout the core. Hence the ap paratus has a rotatable frame 20 journ'alled in pedestals 2| and 22 on hollow bearings through which' the advancing core [9 passes. The frame comprises two generally disc-like heads 23'and 2 4, held together'and spaced apart by two'diametrically opposed, longitudinal, box girder beams 25'and 26. on each frame is mounted a pad support 21 and 28' respectively. These are mounted to be freely rotatable about a common axis intersecting the axis of the frame at right angles. The pads l5 and [6 are placed on these respective supports, and 'the'withdrawal o'f'tape from the pads to beWound on the'core causes the pads and'with them the supports to'rotate. The tapes coming from the pads are guided and controlled in their passage to the winding point W by'sets or'groups 29 and 30 of guide rolls to be described more in detail below. The core l9 comes to the winding point through a polishing 'die 3| and, after being served with the tape, leaves the winding point through a compacting and polishing die 32 supported on rods 33 and 34 rigid with the head 24.

In order to control the tapes they must be under some degree of tension from the 'pads to'the winding point. This is aiforded by. shafts .39 and 40: driven 'by the pad supports through gears 35 and 31and38 and 13.8.v Tl'ie-shaftsain'zturn drive 4| and 43, and 42 and 44. The details of this arrangement are not a part of'the present invention and so are not herein described, being fully disclosed and claimed in copending application Serial No. 426,544 filed of even date herev with by Messrs. L. G. Wade and D. V. Waters,

to which application reference may be had if de sired. state that by this arrangement the two tapes are kept under tensions which are maintained equal at all times.

The frame 20 is rotated about its axis to carry. the pads l5 and I6 about the advancing core, by a motor 55, belts 54, and a multi-grooved drive sheave 53 rigid with the frame. 7

The pads are mounted with their planes parallel to the frame axis and their axes of rotation at right angles thereto, because in this arrangement the difficulties introduced by centrifugal 1 forces at high speeds of operation causing severe bearing stresses are minimized. But with such arrangement, the tape cannot be led directly from the pad to the winding point since all parts of any transverse element of the tape must travel equal distances until the tape begins to be laid on the cable. Otherwise the tape will beunequally stretched or even ruptured. Also, be-

. cause of centrifugal forces involved, it is desirable to keep the length of the frame to a minimum. Hence, in the" arrangement herein disclosed, the path of each tape is doubled back on itself to bring the winding point to a position between the pad supports instead of at some distance outside of them. l

The guiding of the tape I1 is done by the set 29 of three guide rolls 41, 4 8 and 49, while'the tape I8 is guided by the set 39 of three guide rolls 59, 5| and 52. The sets 29 and 3|i| are identically alike, and only the set 90 will be described in detail. The rolls 5|] and 5| are mounted to be freely rotatable in a support 56 detachably mounted on the core guide tube 59. The tube 59 rotates with the head 24 and hence, the support 56 also rotates with thehead 24. The, roll 52 is mounted on the core guide 3| which is detachably secured to the tube 59; Thus the set 30 of three rolls (together with the set, 29), can be removed from the core tube 59 as a unit, to

be, interchanged for a similar set having rolls of other inclinations and dimensions adapted for .tapes of other widths and a different winding cushion any abrupt stresses inthe tapes harmlessly.

Since, as pointed out centrifugal stress reasons, must lie generally parallel to the axis of theirame 20 and therefore to the core |9, the center line of thetape |8 must lead from the pad to the roll 50ina plane parallel .to the core, to avoid unequal stresses in. the

tape tending to rupturetit, and the-axis of the 1 roll .50 mustbe at right angles to the center I lineof this part of the tape. The tape must lead from. the roll, 52 to the winding point at'.the.de-;

above,,the pad ||3,,for

It is sufficient for present purposes to friction brake members and 45 through gears sired angle of approach to the core and with the tape surface tangent to the cylindrical surface of the core. Hence the axis of the roll 52 is in aplane also containing the axis of the core (which is the axis of the frame 20) and will make an angle with the core axis which is the geometrical complement of the angle of approach,

since the axis of the roll 52 must be at right angles to the center line of the tape leaving it to go to the core. The center line of the tape in passing from the pad IE to the winding point, reverses direction, to bring the winding point between the'pads, and also alters direction by an angular amount equal to the angle of approach. The latter alteration is accomplished in two stages by means of the roll 5|.

A paper tape, or tape of practically any material ordinarily thought of as inelastic, e. g. metal, tightly woven or braided textile, artificial resin or plastic, or the like, nevertheless has sufficientelasticity to permit of its being twisted to some degree in passing from one roll to another, provided that the axes of the two rolls lie in parallel planes. The axis'of the roll 5| lies in a plane parallel to a plane passing through the axis of the roll 5 9, but the direction of the axis of 5| makes'a'n; angle with the direction of the axis of the roll 5|l-which is almost half of the average angle o'f-approach of therange'of work for which the; particular set 39 is adapted.

A Thus, asshownin Figs. l,2 and 3, the rolls 50, 5| and 52 'lie,;a s seen, in a direction longitudinal of the machine, in planes parallel to each other and to the axisof-theframe 20, while, as seen from the side of-t'he "frame the roll is perpendicular t the axis of the frame, the roll 52 slants from the perpendicular at an angle equal to the angle fappr oach and the'roll 5| slants at about halfof this angle.

The roll 52 (as'also the roll 49 being the j member finally, controllingthe approach of the tape to the winding point, is circumferentially corrugated orgrooved asshown, in orderthat air,-. f rictionallydragged along by the tape, may

not enter a'nd lift away thetape from the roll to spoil the accuracy of control.

The factthat the guiderolls are mounted on themember (the core tube 59) which supports the coresubstantially up to thewinding point, allows the free tape between the last guide roll andthe winding. point to be made the shortest p s le- With;suitably proportioned and arrangedsets 29 and 30 of rolls, a large rangelof widths of tape can be served with a large range of overlap in any one case. It is not believed necessary to disclose all possible types of .variation, but one important one is shown as typical Threesets of rolls .49a'nd 52 are shown adapted to serve-three ranges of widths of tape-to be laid onat the same winding point and with increasing steepness of pitch and therefore of overlap also, as the width of the tape increases. The rolls of Fig. 4 I are adaptedfor tape of, say from three units to .fourunits-wide;.the rolls of Fig. 5 fortape from four to six units wide; and the rolls of Fig. 6 for tau ht-r 12? t e t uni s Wid Thewinding point isthe point where the center line of the tape meets the core. As the tape is made wider the center line moves out on the roll; Hence the angle of approach must be made ea r. f t win n nt rema n x e c e, l i t ted fur her. om t e sem dicu a as he r l de on r e 1: 1: t

r of i 4- substant a ysq test f r airway three and one-half units wide, but will handle the tape from one-half unit less to one-half unit more satisfactorily. And similarly with the rolls of Figs. and 6. Each is correct for a median value, but will handle tapes somewhat larger or smaller satisfactorily, presumably because of the slight but existing elasticity of the tape.

Other modifications to suit other desired results will be obvious after the above. The embodiment disclosed is illustrative and may be variously altered and departed from without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention particularly described and pointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core and having a core guide member rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to the winding point where a tape being served meets the core, means to guide and serve the tape comprising a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core to guide the tape to the winding point.

2. In an apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core and having a core guide member rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to the winding point where a tape being served meets the core, means to guide and serve the tape comprising a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core to guide the tape to the winding point, one roll of the plurality being detachably mounted in the set.

3. In an apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core and having a core guide member rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to the winding point where a tape being served meets the core, means to guide and serve the tape comprising a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core and disposed at progressively diminishing angles to the core to progressively bring the tape to advance to the winding point at a predetermined angle to the core.

4. In an apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core and having a core guide member rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to the winding point where a tape being served meets the core, means to guide and serve the tape comprising a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core and disposed at progressively diminishing angles to the core to progressively bring the tape to advance to the winding point at a predetermined angle to the core, one roll of the plurality being detachably mounted in the set.

5. An apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core comprising means to revolve a supply of tape in an orbit about the core, means rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to a winding point, and means interchangeably mounted on the core supporting means to revolve therewith about the core and to guide the tape from the supply to the winding point, the last named means including a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core to guide the tape to the winding point.

6. An apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core comprising means to revolve a supply of tape in an orbit about the core, means rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to a winding point, and means interchangeably mounted on the core supporting means to revolve therewith about the core and to guide the tape from the supply to the Winding point, the last named means including a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core to guide the tape to the winding point, one roll of the plurality being detachably mounted in the set.

7. An apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core comprising means to revolve a supply of tape in an orbit about the core, and means to guide tape from the supply first in a direction generally opposite to the advance of the core and then in a direction having generally the same sense as the advance of the core to a winding point on the core.

8. In an apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core and having a core guide member rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to the winding point where a tape being served meets the core, means to guide and serve the tape comprising a plurality of rolls mounted on the core guide and rotatable therewith about the core to guide the tape to the winding point, the core guide being longitudinally reciprocable toward the winding point under the pull of a tape on the rolls thereon, and spring means to hold the core guide yieldingly away from the Winding point.

9. In an apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core and having a core guide member rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to the winding point where a tape being served meets the core, means to guide and serve the tape comprising a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core to guide the tape to the winding point, the core guide being longitudinally reciprocable toward the winding point under the pull of a tape on the rolls thereon, and spring means to hold the core guide yieldingly away from the winding point.

10. In an apparatus for serving tape on a longitudinally advancing core and having a core guide member rotating about and supporting the portion of the core advancing to the winding point where a tape being served meets the core, means to guide and serve the tape comprising a plurality of rolls mounted detachably as a set on the core guide to be interchangeable thereon for another plurality as a set and rotatable therewith about the core to guide the tape to the winding point, one roll of the plurality being detachably mounted in the set, the core guide being longitudinally reciprocable toward the winding point under the pull of a tape on the rolls thereon, and spring means to hold the core guide yieldingly away from the winding point.

AXEL C. NYSTROM. LORENTZ G. WADE. 

